- 9 hours ago
Rookie Truckers Season 1 Episode 1
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00:02G'day, I'm Steve Graham. I've spent my life driving trucks across Australia.
00:10Bloody pain in the arse camel.
00:14It's a tough job. This is a bastard in a bit of road.
00:17Now, we've got a big problem in the industry.
00:21Aussie Trucking is at a crisis point.
00:2426,000 drivers are needed to fill a huge labour market gap.
00:28Australia relies on us.
00:30Supermarket shelves will be stripped bare.
00:33They need our trucks.
00:35But now, after decades behind the wheel, a generation of drivers is about to retire.
00:43We have a massive crisis, a driver shortage.
00:47So me and my mates are going to do what we can to pass the torch and get the next
00:51generation ready.
00:52He reckons he wants to be thrown in the deep end, I'm throwing him in at 100 miles an hour.
00:56I think I have a problem.
01:00Living the dream.
01:02This is so bloody stressful.
01:04Come on buttercup, you'll be alright.
01:06I have faith in you.
01:08If the trucks stop, the nation stops.
01:23I've been driving these bangers here for 55 years, something like that.
01:33I'm getting up to 10 million kilometres, the equivalent of 10 times to the moon and back.
01:40I've got a couple of good mates coming in today.
01:43My name's Sludge and I'm 57.
01:49I've done everything.
01:51Dangerous goods, fuel, out in no man's land.
01:55It's a tough job.
01:58My name is Glen Yogi Kendall and I'm 48.
02:05I've been trucking for about 27 years.
02:09I've done general, I've done overnight, I've done parcel freight.
02:14I can go from anywhere in Australia to anywhere in Australia.
02:18It takes a very special type of person to become a distance truck prop.
02:22I'm going to ask them to give me a hand.
02:24Good to see you fellas, good to see you.
02:27Yogi, good to see you mate after all this time.
02:30Well fellas, there's a real problem in our industry.
02:34There's not enough new truckies stepping up to the plate.
02:36There's a lot of jobs and no one to fill the job.
02:39You know, we're responsible for making sure that supermarket shelves are full.
02:43That hospitals have got the equipment that they need.
02:45Everything comes on a truck.
02:47Third biggest industry in Australia.
02:48Yeah.
02:49We need people to step up and fill the gaps.
02:51Between our three brains, there's so much swimming around in the head there.
02:54We've got a lot of knowledge.
02:55Let's share it with some people.
02:58I've contacted a few rookies who want to give it a fair go.
03:01We need to go and instill a bit of knowledge.
03:03Yeah, spend a bit of time with them.
03:04Spend a bit of time.
03:05Let's get these rookies ready for Australian roads.
03:07Some of the harshest environments in the world.
03:09Yep.
03:10We will have them on Australian roads, doing it the right way.
03:13I'm pleased to have you on the team.
03:15Let's pass it on fellas.
03:25Well I just finished a job up in Broome and I'm on my way south home.
03:30But I'm coming up to Mount Magnet and there's a rookie I've got my eye on that's going to be
03:34in Magnet this afternoon.
03:36Young fellow out of Ireland, Eric Scully.
03:38Eric's been here in Australia under a year and he's worked his way into quad road trains already.
03:45You know in Western Australia, iron ore mining is worth about a hundred and forty billion dollars a year.
03:51And there's big money to be made driving the quads that carry it.
03:54We're talking four trailer road trains, two hundred tons and plus.
04:05I know that Eric's a bit of a snap happy character, he likes getting out on social media.
04:13I'm telling you, the animals in Australia are f***ing stupid.
04:20Why?
04:21I swear to God, look at the mountain of those chickens.
04:25As he fell out of bed.
04:28Jesus Christ.
04:30Oh you f***ing bastard.
04:40Let me go and have a chat with him.
04:43He's got one of the biggest rigs around.
04:46Two hundred plus tons, ninety eight wheels on the road.
04:49I've got to be happy in my mind that he's not a loose cannon out there rattling around on our
04:55highways with that sort of gear.
05:01Eric.
05:03Ah, nice to meet you.
05:04Good to meet you in person mate.
05:06Very good.
05:06Yeah, so having fun on social media gave me some impressions in my mind that I just wanted to straighten
05:13out with you.
05:13I hope that's not the real Eric.
05:15Oh God no, you pick your moments.
05:18You think you're the king of the road and you think you know it from being back home.
05:21You get humbled when you come out here because you don't know anything.
05:24Oh, well I'm really pleased to hear about that because we don't want loose cannons running around in quads.
05:30No.
05:30Coming from a nice little green country like Ireland, how do you like the vastness of the Australian outback mate?
05:37How are you handling that?
05:39Being alone in essentially a box, it's something that you definitely have to build your mental strength out there.
05:47One thing that I suppose always gets me through my days, I'm forever on FaceTime with my mother.
05:56I'm never afraid to pick up the phone.
05:59Good on you mate.
06:02That's a big part of it, being out here on country.
06:05Yeah.
06:06That's why I'm annoying you and mentoring you.
06:08Absolutely.
06:09To try and give you some advice so that you're out there in the public domain with the rest of
06:14us.
06:14Yep.
06:15And we're all mixing it up safely.
06:16It's been an absolute pleasure.
06:17Take care of yourself out there.
06:19Thank you very much.
06:19You too.
06:20I'm very upbeat.
06:21Under that outgoing extrovert exterior, there's a sensible, responsible, deep thinking driver in there.
06:31There's a good bloke in there.
06:46First day in the superquiet.
06:48First time I've ever pulled one, so yeah, it's a massive step up for me.
06:54For the likes of Steve to turn around and say, yeah, nah, you're a good buck.
06:57Keep the wheels turning.
06:58It's a really good feeling.
07:00I mean, he's an absolute icon for anybody who loves trucks.
07:04So, yeah, for him to give me the AOK, it meant an awful lot.
07:09You know, I reckon Eric's got all the qualities that we need in a rookie.
07:13He hasn't got the experience yet.
07:15My big worry is, I wonder how he's going to go out there on his own with the isolation.
07:21He's got to be on his game, that boy.
07:23I'll call him later, check on how he's going.
07:27But, I'm going to leave him to it and get this load home.
07:32Checking your tires.
07:34If they're silent, that's when you've got a problem.
07:38It will eventually just go bang and rip the whole lot around it off.
07:46Pretty much ready to roll out?
07:48Oh yeah, one more thing.
07:49We would not possibly go without giving her the cross to keep me safe.
07:53This is holy water from Nock, back home in Ireland.
07:57Renowned for being really holy stuff.
07:59Powerful.
08:00If it was alcohol, it would be like vodka.
08:03My mother sent it out to me and she made me promise to bless my truck.
08:06Did you bless the truck?
08:07I did, ma'am, I did.
08:09She's blessed from head to toe.
08:11The Pope would be proud of me.
08:12Hopefully we won't have any problems on our trip.
08:21Hello, here we go.
08:22First time driving the quad.
08:30Yeah, super quad rolling out there from the servo.
08:38It's a long truck.
08:40I'd nearly need my doculars to see the back of it.
08:45Time to hit the outback.
08:51Eric will drive 380 kilometres from Mount Magnet to pick up iron ore at Waluna.
08:58Then it's 530 kilometres to drop it off in Kalgoorlie before returning to Waluna to repeat the journey.
09:07It's a total of almost two and a half thousand kilometres, taking four brutal 15 hour days.
09:20I got a cheese line.
09:22It is twice the size of anything I've ever driven.
09:25That's in weight, length, axles, tyres, you name it.
09:30It's twice the size at least.
09:34In the UK, the biggest trucks are 18.55 metres long.
09:39In the USA, 24.4 metres.
09:43Western Australian quad combination trucks are 60 metres long and carry 200 tonnes fully loaded.
09:53It feels empowering to be on the road with a super quad.
09:56The longest combination you'll see on a public road in the world.
10:00To be heading for the mine pulling something like this.
10:04It's definitely something I'm proud to be doing.
10:12You've got four trailers behind you, swaying.
10:19One thing I was told when I started driving road trains is, your mirrors are for when you're going backwards.
10:24When you're going forwards, don't look at them.
10:27Because all you'll do is you'll give yourself anxiety.
10:30Because you'll watch those trailers bounce and sway.
10:33The more that happens, the more you try and correct it, and the more you're actually making them bounce and
10:37sway.
10:48Copy the oversize.
10:51When you get a clear straight, let me know and I'll try and come round.
10:56So that's a five metre long load.
10:58But the trailer itself is four metres wide.
11:02I want a dead straight run that I can see for at least a kilometre coming up the road.
11:08So that I have a chance to get every single part of this truck around him and in without putting
11:13myself under any pressure.
11:15As you get to the right hand lane, it might take 30 seconds to a minute.
11:20I don't know, but it feels like a long time.
11:22Here's a prime example of what you want to avoid.
11:25So there's a cow on the side of the road.
11:27They are like, oh man, there's a flock of them.
11:30Every one of those guys there are liable to run out in front of me.
11:39That's a big unit.
11:42Well, boys, whenever you're ready, you just give me the heads up and I'll come round.
11:47All right, I'll hold them in, you're going incoming.
11:53This is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of the job.
11:57You're going after the squad, bud.
12:00Right, oh, I'll start winding her up.
12:02Take it in performance mode, just so I have every bit of beans to get the speed up and get
12:08past him as quick as I can.
12:12Right, oh, I'm going to put her on the right hand lane there now and come around.
12:25This is definitely not where you want to be.
12:29A bend, up the road.
12:31Yeah, man, I'm not going for this one on the bend, not a hope.
12:33I'm going to just pull in behind you, all right?
12:35Charlie, you keep it going, mate. Keep it going, man.
12:47So Steve sent me over here to see Shelly Roseby.
12:50She's starting off tomorrow with a new job.
12:53She's carting hay tomorrow, which she hasn't carted.
12:56Hay's one of the shit things to cart.
12:58It moves and floats around on a trailer.
13:00So he's just sent me over to try and get her up to speed and help her out.
13:06Beautiful out here.
13:07My name is Shelly Roseby.
13:09I'm 40 and I'm from Gunnedah, New South Wales.
13:16I live here with my husband, Matt, and our beautiful children, Sam, Harriet, Tilly and Gigi.
13:22We've got a cropping and livestock farm.
13:24We have beef cattle.
13:26But I'm a PE teacher and primary school teacher by trade.
13:30That's where I've spent the majority of my time.
13:33I've got a lot of history in the family with trucking.
13:36I remember being in the truck from a baby and it was always a happy place.
13:40That's the dream.
13:41Go full-time truck driving.
13:43Hello!
13:44How are you?
13:44Lovely to meet you.
13:46So I hear you want to sort of start your own transport company and get bigger and better.
13:50That's the plan.
13:51So hopefully this will be the first baby and then we'll go onwards and upwards from there.
13:57With our own farming and having to pay for haulage of our grain, it was becoming too much of an
14:02expense and something that we had to eliminate.
14:04And the only way we could do that is by buying a truck.
14:07We've purchased it for $40,000.
14:10It was probably the most stress that we've ever felt financially as a family, but we had to take that
14:15leap and risk it.
14:17So the goal now is to actually make money from the truck.
14:20She's got to get it viable, she's got to get her license up and get two trailers on the thing
14:24and start making some serious money and pay the truck off and make it all work.
14:32Shelly's licensed to drive a heavy combination vehicle.
14:35A truck with a trailer connected by a pivot joint.
14:39With Sludge's guidance, she's aiming for the highest class of heavy vehicle license in Australia.
14:46A multi-combination, or MC, which would allow her to drive B-doubles and triples.
14:54For a fuel efficiency, it just doesn't make sense to be running one trailer.
14:57We get paid per tonne over here, so I really have to step it up.
15:01And that's the big goal, the big need to get the MC license.
15:04That's the next step.
15:06Two trailers.
15:07So have you done some backing and stuff?
15:10With two trailers? No, I've never even driven with two trailers.
15:13Oh my God.
15:14So that's, well that's in a total.
15:16I heard you're a good teacher.
15:17I'm a good teacher, don't I?
15:19So I hear you've got a big job coming up tomorrow.
15:21We've got a couple of firsts to sort of tick off.
15:23So, going and picking up some hay, and my sisters are actually coming over, they'll be in trucks as well.
15:30So we're going to run that over the mountain to mum and dads.
15:34Haven't carted a full load of hay on a semi before.
15:37Hay is a shit of a thing. The hay just jumps off.
15:40Yeah, no, it's pretty nerve-wracking.
15:41It's a bit daunting.
15:43Mmm, very daunting.
15:44And especially, you know, you haven't been driving that long.
15:46No.
15:47Even though it's tied on, hay's still a shit of a load that can move and slide.
15:50So, she's got to be super smooth and gentle.
15:54Well here we go.
15:56Here we go.
15:57I've got a little test that I want to play on her.
16:00So, I'm going to fill a drum up with water and put it on the back of her truck and
16:03get her to take me for a bit of a run.
16:05And she's not allowed to spill the water.
16:07I'm going to give her a shit if she spills the water.
16:12So, when we get up here, this shed, we're going to do a lap around this shed.
16:23Oh, I can see it coming out the top.
16:27Oh, shit.
16:28Oh, shit.
16:30Oh, shit.
16:31Not smooth.
16:31That's the problem.
16:33Yeah, well, there's a hail fall off if you're not smooth.
16:38Rookie error.
16:40Broke before you get to corners and drive around the corner.
16:43You don't break halfway around the corner.
16:46Do you want to play?
16:48No, you're not.
16:53No, you're not.
16:53I'm not.
16:54No, you're not.
16:56No, you're not.
16:57No, you're not.
17:09combinations to shift between gears, high and low range, and bottom, middle, and top gearboxes.
17:20If you are gearing down and you do cock it up, jump to a three-in-one hit. Don't try
17:27and go to
17:28the one you're going to, bypass it and do two. Wow, well done!
17:40Stop, stop!
17:45God, there's water coming out of it. That is not nice.
17:53But at least I know you can actually use the brakes, you did well. Is it still upright? I don't
17:57know.
18:01How did we go? Oh, there you go, it's got a measuring thing on it. 90, so you've lost 20.
18:09What was the worst part? But I reckon the drum slipped on the floor.
18:13That might have been going around that corner fast.
18:16I'd prefer not to lose any probably. There's room for improvement, but I am surprised it's better
18:22than what I thought. I was shitting myself about it.
18:30The hay run is for Shelley's parents who need it trucked to their farm, but it'll be a severe test.
18:40It will take her along some of New South Wales' most treacherous roads.
18:47From Gunnedah, she's taking on the Oxley Highway,
18:52380 kilometres to her parents' farm in Kempsey, up the steep pass at Moonby, and along the dangerous,
19:00narrow, winding roads that cross the Great Dividing Range.
19:07I've never driven that road with a semi full of hay, so that's going to be a huge learning curve,
19:13and a challenge I'm petrified about.
19:15The load she's taking over this road is a tough ask for any trucker,
19:20let alone a rookie that's never done one before, so it's going to be a big push for her.
19:26I've got three sisters, and we've always grown up really close, and
19:30still, even though we're a few hundred kilometres apart, we speak to each other every day.
19:34Hello, nice to meet you.
19:36I'll have a truck, and we'll be all going in convoy.
19:40It gives me more confidence doing it when I have them with me.
19:44Four sisters that drive trucks, that's a bit of a handful.
19:47It's what we do. We've got a farm, so we use the trucks to cart the cattle, to cart the
19:52hay.
19:53It's not really an optimal time to get the hay, given the weather, but we've had flooding over it
19:58on the coast, so we need to supplement feed the cows until the grass comes back.
20:04Yeah, but everyone's still got to be fed, don't they?
20:06Yeah, they do. They do.
20:07That's the trouble.
20:17Yeah, keep coming a bit. That'll do. Stop there.
20:22Oh, shit.
20:24It's a big load of hay, even for a person like me.
20:27Like, I'd be very careful with that load of hay.
20:31It's a pretty big effort for a first run.
20:33It's too much.
20:34The girls are worried that it's too big a load.
20:37Going out through the mountain pass is what they're concerned about.
20:41Being a rookie, she is green, she is learning, so we don't want anything stupid to happen
20:47first time out.
20:49You're the driver, mate, you're cool. What do you want to do?
20:53Do you think it will unsettle the load too much to take off the top layer?
20:57If we can get a top layer off it, it'll make no difference.
21:02Right, let's look at taking a layer off.
21:04Right, let's go and see if we can get one off.
21:06Yes.
21:07So the call's been made now to unload the top layer.
21:11That's it, real slow.
21:15Stop!
21:24Rooking trucking.
21:25We'll get it right.
21:27This is just as well I decided to stay and give her a little hand today.
21:39I reckon that's all right, eh?
21:41Let's get it back in the shin.
21:48Wrong way!
21:52Other way!
21:53Straighten your truck up!
21:55Just straight now, straighten your wheel.
21:58Whoa!
22:00Go forward, she has to move.
22:02Go forward and come over.
22:08I can't get her here.
22:10Go forward and you need to move the back of the trailer over to your right.
22:15Forward.
22:16All right, swing your truck over to the left.
22:20Righto, stop there.
22:23Okay, now come back in and put the left hand down.
22:27And that'll move the trailer over to the right.
22:30Bit more, harder.
22:35Now straighten up.
22:36Slow down.
22:38Chase your trailer.
22:40Chase your trailer with the truck.
22:41Chase.
22:43Stop, stop!
22:50That's a big unit.
22:51The trailer is four meters wide.
22:57Yeah, man, I'm not going for this one on the bends.
22:59Not at home.
22:59Keep it going, man.
23:01There's a taller left front, mate.
23:03Taller left the old side.
23:04Everything down for you.
23:05All righto, no problem.
23:06I appreciate that, boys.
23:09Still clear up the front.
23:16This is definitely not where you want to be.
23:21Save your hell, Mary's.
23:28Don't look in the mirrors.
23:35All right.
23:48I don't ever want to do that again.
23:52That's, uh, that is one of those situations where you get a cold shiver down your spine.
23:59You're not going to see something like that in Ireland.
24:01But yeah, to have something five meters wide just
24:04barreling down the road that you have to just deal with,
24:07it's, it's not something that happens.
24:10The dump trucks that'll be that size.
24:12If you were to put one of those in Ireland and fill up the bucket,
24:15so we'd have no country left, we'd be swimming.
24:26I'd better check in with Eric and see how he's going, I think.
24:35Steve, how are you getting on?
24:36Not bad, Eric.
24:37What about you, mate?
24:38I had to get around a five meter wide oversize.
24:42That was a challenge, definitely, with the size of a yoke that I am.
24:47And to be fair, I didn't realize that there was a pilot up the road.
24:50I actually thought I was communicating with the driver.
24:52I do understand mistakes will be made, and we've just got to learn from them.
24:57Establish who you're talking to, and then go.
24:59That's it, yeah.
25:00Just keep an eye on your fatigue, you know, you're out there by yourself.
25:05Yeah.
25:05Well, that can get you down a bit if you let it get hold of you.
25:08Yeah, but I just have to, I suppose, keep reminding me of myself that
25:12what I'm doing is, for me, and it's important.
25:15Yeah, I'm pleased you're handling it.
25:17You've worked out a way to stay on top of it, and you're still doing it.
25:22Good.
25:23No problem, I appreciate it.
25:24Good on you, mate.
25:25You take care, aye.
25:26Bye-bye.
25:42You can see, as far to the horizon, there's very little to actually look at out here.
25:53You're sat here, on your own, in a little box, with nothing to take your mind off your mind.
26:02So you've no choice but to sit here with yourself and stew, think.
26:07So that can, that can play, play games with your head.
26:13Effectively, what you're doing is, you're gone into solitary.
26:17Prisoners don't even go into solitary for as long as you do.
26:22It's definitely, it's not a job, it's a lifestyle, and it's one that has its, uh, its downfalls.
26:40We're, uh, pretty much here.
26:47Just pulling into the mine, so, this is where we gotta put the, the theory into your reality.
26:55It's one thing to put an empty trailer, it's, uh, it's another thing when there's, uh, 132 tonne of a
27:02payload going into it.
27:03So, um, yeah, it's been, uh, been exciting up until now, but, uh, this is where it gets real.
27:14When you're going in and out of the line, you want to try and keep the dust to a minimum.
27:20Obviously, you're in the outback, so, you kind of can't, because, well, it's made of dust.
27:34D-C-T-1-4-4-1.
27:38D-C-T-1-4-1-4-4-1.
27:43Important, as an Irish book, we are trying to communicate with guys.
27:48Apparently, we are hard to understand.
27:51I don't see how, we speak perfectly normally, the rest of the world has the problem.
27:54But, um, yeah, slow, steady, one, or, or, one.
28:03And then they hear us, and sometimes they don't, but it's okay.
28:08Because it means I get to talk to somebody other than myself.
28:15Right, that's that, we're here, we're about to get loaded.
28:18Drop the air to my seat, because otherwise I can't reach the controls.
28:21Put it in neutral, so that my truck doesn't try to drive off when I rev it up.
28:27And...
28:32Right now, we are being loaded with iron ore in our first trailer.
28:37We are going to get 17 tonne.
28:42So, in total, we're allowed a payload of 132.96 tonnes.
28:50That's a lot of tonnes.
28:53Now, we are on to our final trailer.
28:58Soon enough, we'll be rolling out.
29:03But I have already identified a challenge.
29:07The location we've loaded is right at the bottom of the hill.
29:12It's when this is going to be painful to even get this thing moving, let alone getting it up the
29:19hill.
29:23Do you want to roll back a bit?
29:25You better run up that hill.
29:27Or you'll be alright.
29:29Yeah, no, I'll roll her back.
29:34Quads are not something that's been designed to go backwards.
29:39Yeah, they'll probably do you, man. Just throw them in.
29:43And again, Irish people learned exactly what's designed to drive quads, so it's a win-win.
29:50Oh, lads, this is not fun.
29:54Run!
29:57What you doing, mate?
30:01I'd say I might need to do it.
30:08Straighten your truck up now.
30:10Straighten your truck.
30:13Slow down, ride the clutch a bit, Shell.
30:16Straighten the front wheel up.
30:19Okay, that's it. Just keep coming back.
30:21Steady.
30:24Righto, steady up.
30:25Ride the clutch a bit.
30:27That'll do it. Leave it there, please.
30:29Jesus, what sort of trucker are you?
30:32This is so bloody stressful.
30:34Come on, buttercup. You'll be alright.
30:36Grab this here.
30:37We can get up there to do the tarp, so it's all that matters.
30:40Yep.
30:41We're back on track again.
30:42So now we're just pulling the tarp down, getting her all tied up nice and neatly.
30:46We don't need anything happening on her first load.
30:48And it is her first load of hay, so it's got to be right.
30:52It's looking good.
30:54I've got a job that I've got to get done.
30:55So I'll head off now and then I'll get in touch with her tonight or tomorrow
31:00and see how she's gone, just to make sure it's all gone well for her.
31:03Thanks for everything.
31:03Okay.
31:05Thank you for all your help.
31:06All right.
31:07See you, girls.
31:08Safe travels.
31:21To help warn her of approaching hazards on the journey, riding in convoy are Shelley's sisters,
31:27Jodie and Amy, and niece Alyssa.
31:32First challenge, Moonby Range.
31:35From here, we'll head up Moonby.
31:41Here we go.
31:42First one's a steep one, so it's a really hard, long pull.
31:46It can be so difficult if you don't get the gears right, and that's what I'm really dreading.
31:59Come on down.
32:01Okay, slamming through the gears, mate.
32:05See now, Sludge told me if I miss it, go to the next one.
32:13And I've missed it again.
32:15Oh, come on, babe.
32:16Work with me.
32:31I can't get a gear.
32:32Just keep working through it.
32:41I've found third.
32:42All right, just keep it going.
32:45As long as you've got a gear and your temperature's right,
32:47you'll be fine.
32:49There's nothing wrong with the kick-ups.
32:51It's the driver.
32:53It's a fair bit steeper.
32:59Hey, hey, hey, not too hard on her.
33:01Keep your ribs down into an appropriate level.
33:08Nearly missed her coming up.
33:13Keep an eye on those gauges.
33:17She's almost there.
33:18Can't you taste the finish line?
33:22And that's Moonby Range.
33:24Accomplished.
33:25Rookie shell.
33:26All done and dusted, mate.
33:28Well done.
33:28My foot is just like f***ing shaky.
33:31Yeah, we're looking for the truck.
33:33My foot is like, you know, from nerves.
33:39Little cherry pop there.
33:42Woo!
33:43Holy jelly.
33:48Shelly has no time to celebrate.
33:51Now, she has to negotiate the notorious Walker Mountain.
33:57This is the biggest challenge of the day.
34:00The pool over Walker Mountain, there's so many blind corners.
34:06It can be a really dangerous road.
34:08It's unfortunate, but it has killed a lot of people.
34:14Really tight, windy, hilly, a lot of corners.
34:17You're on the wrong side of the road getting around the corners with the flat top 45 foot.
34:21Getting over this mountain will be interesting.
34:25And especially, you know, if she hasn't done it before.
34:29I am nervous, definitely.
34:30100% I'm nervous.
34:32It's a road that I've not driven with such a big load on and such a long trailer.
34:40The length of the trailer will really change my course of trajectory around those corners.
34:51Trailer cuts across the corner, so if I'm not out far enough when I take that corner,
34:56then the trailer will cut across straight behind me.
34:58They're so tight.
35:00Always going to be really vigilant about what's coming the other way.
35:07We've got Joad up ahead.
35:09She'll call anything that's coming around any of those tight corners that I need to sort of
35:13hug the line or get over the other side of the line for.
35:17And then Amy's behind us.
35:19She'll let us know if anything's behind.
35:23Car, van, van, van, and a link reager and car van.
35:28Roger.
35:30On a bad, bad corner.
35:35Keep it hard, Jo, keep it hard.
35:38Keep her up, Jo, keep her up.
35:48Oh, shit.
35:55That's it, keep on.
35:57It's very bloody narrow.
36:01Thanks, mate.
36:03I could see.
36:04I should have been in the gutter, but look, that's my error.
36:10Motorboat coming.
36:12I need that sideways.
36:15Careful.
36:16Yeah, you had to readjust then.
36:17Far out.
36:19He was coming very fast.
36:23The challenge of this road really takes over people when they're on their motorbikes.
36:34craft zone for 40-something kilometres.
36:39Almost hold your breath.
36:41Because I've seen how it ends.
36:46About 10 years ago, I was actually driving this road in a car.
36:50And I was the first responder to a motorcycle accident.
36:55We did CPR for over an hour.
36:58We didn't survive, unfortunately.
36:59And it was really hard to, I guess, walk away from that situation knowing that, you know,
37:12he wasn't going home.
37:13His family were never seeing him again.
37:15And that we were the last people to sort of see him alive.
37:18And, like, I didn't sleep that night.
37:20I was on my way to mum and dad's.
37:22And I remember lying there thinking, you know,
37:24that his partner would have been told by then and what she would have been going through.
37:28Like, you don't want anyone to sort of think about that and what his children would have been, um,
37:34going through.
37:35Like, it's really awful.
37:36I just, um, tragic.
37:41Really tragic.
38:15It's a great feeling knowing that I've come over there and, um, done it for the first time.
38:27If you've got the ability and the skill to get over there and drive that road safely,
38:32you can navigate anything, really.
38:34So, it's good for the next steps that I would want to take in regards to getting that next licence.
38:41So, it's really good practice for me and really good experience to get.
38:47Just heading into Kempsey.
38:49So, we're, um, on the home stretch to deliver this hay.
38:53So, that's a really good feeling.
38:54Thanks, girls.
38:56Can't believe we've made it.
38:57You're welcome, mate.
38:58No worries.
38:59You had a great trip over.
39:00You drove really well.
39:01Yeah, mate.
39:02Thanks for stepping up and bringing this load over for us.
39:04It's fantastic help for us.
39:06Next time, we'll put the extra layer on the top.
39:16So good to be here.
39:20Hey, Sludge.
39:21Hello.
39:21How are you?
39:22Yeah, good.
39:23Thanks, mate.
39:23How have you been going?
39:25We've, um, got over the mountain and conquered it.
39:28Oh, beautiful.
39:30Yeah, it was, um...
39:31Did you lose any?
39:32No, didn't lose any.
39:33Oh, well, you've done great.
39:34Congratulations.
39:35Thanks for all your advice yesterday to get us over the mountain today.
39:38Ah, that's all good.
39:40All right.
39:41Have fun.
39:41See ya.
39:42Hooroo.
39:42Bye.
39:44Bye.
39:45Good to share that and have that positive sort of, um, reinforcement that you've done
39:50the right thing and that things went well.
39:54How are ya, babe?
39:56I couldn't be prouder.
39:57She's taken these steps to start her trucking career, um, really by herself.
40:02And probably she did better than I had expected because she hasn't had as much
40:07driving experience, especially on that type of road, but yeah, I couldn't be prouder.
40:12Yeah, no, it's such a good sense of relief to get it done and dusted.
40:16Yeah, I'm super impressed and super proud that she's actually pulled it off.
40:19It's really good.
40:20It's good to see.
40:39All right, you're in the quad.
40:41Come on, Mike, you're fully loaded.
40:42Get out of here.
40:49I'll drive over there for you.
40:50I'll show you.
40:52Yeah, show him how to drive it over.
40:55Jesus Christ.
40:58Unbelievable.
41:03Hold on, I think I might have got something.
41:07Just leave it in that gear and crawl over the top.
41:10Yeah, well done.
41:13Yeah, we are rolling out.
41:16Just about.
41:19Mike Barry nearly couldn't even get in the room.
41:23This is a bit embarrassing.
41:27I'm doing it.
41:29I'm in New York and Australia.
41:30I drive it to be massive roads.
41:36Could this mean that I can now claim to be the king of the road of Ireland?
41:46Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are officially leaving the mine, a full load, which will put us roughly
41:58around the 195 ton back.
42:04So, yeah, this is where it gets real.
42:08This is it.
42:09This is the pinnacle.
42:10This is what I've come to do.
42:14So let's just go and do it.
42:19You f***.
42:20That was close.
42:23You got my winged mirrors.
42:25I'm very, very sorry about that, buddy.
42:39This has been an embarrassing run, so bye, but, uh, I'll put it on, but, yeah, it can
42:46any worse problem problem problem welcome to super quiet we've got
43:03ourselves into this bit of a mess if I keep coming that triaxle will scrape off
43:07the face of that rock the very same as the Titanic did the iceberg oh you don't
43:13do it to me oh I ran out of fuel oh and I thought of it an oil and it
43:21didn't ah why it is never-ending
43:46so
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